In the airline industry there are many common functions that must be performed by all airlines such as baggage handling, and check-in. Some of these functions, such a check-in are gradually being moved to a self-service channel where the action is performed by the passenger or customer rather than the airline. In the case of check-in, the function may be performed on-line, at designated self-service kiosks at an airport, or through the traditional airline check-in desk where the passenger will be checked-in by an airline representative. It is anticipated that check-in via a mobile phone or other pda will become available in the near future.
Thus there is a plurality of channels though which a check-in service may be delivered. The basic function is the same for all airports and airlines although every airline and every airport has its own business requirements and rules and may require enhanced functionality such as self-bag tagging, and revenue generating opportunities such as ancillary revenue and targeted marketing.
Over the years individual code bases have been developed by each airline and each airport to handle check-in such that there is now an almost one to one relationship between applications and code bases. This is highly inefficient and requires support and maintenance and long certification cycles. It is also difficult to enhance and develop existing systems as the airlines must revert back to the original developers to write changes to the original code bases. It presents particular problems for airlines as they are required to use different code streams for different modes of check-in. It also creates difficulties for airports who have to work with multiple airlines, each of which may have its own set of code bases. It further creates difficulties for suppliers who have to provide support and maintenance for a large variety of incompatible code bases.
This problem is not confined to check-in but is also present in other areas where different systems have evolved to handle the same tasks, for example, ticketing and baggage handling.
Although this is a particular problem in the airline industry, it also exists in other fields where a number of parallel implementations of solutions have evolved over years. For example, in different modes of travel and in the entertainment and hospitality industry, particularly in event ticketing and hotel check-in as well as areas such as the financial industry where devices such as ATM machines are often running on a variety of different code bases. The financial self-service industry faces similar issues as the airline industry. There has been a proliferation of channels, and a range of customers from large multi-national to small regional banks, each of whom seek to differentiate themselves via the self service channel while looking for revenue generating opportunities on that channel. The financial industry also faces issues of legacy back-end systems and industry specific devices and device interfaces.